Italy brought pizza to the U.S. The Middle East gave us shawarma. Japan donated sushi.
Now husband-and-wife team Kitty Rosso and Fede Sala hope to bring a culinary contribution from Argentina to the American food scene:
Milanesa.
Call it the Argentinian cousin of schnitzel, a Milanesa is essentially a fried, breaded thin cutlet, usually made with veal, but chicken or even eggplant can step in.
It’s classic comfort food in beef-loving Argentina and it’s the specialty of the 70-unit El Club de la Milanesa restaurant chain, which Rosso and Sala co-founded. El Club first launched in Buenos Aires 19 years ago, and now most locations are in Argentina, with two units in Uruguay.
Last year, El Club opened for the first time in the U.S., landing in Miami. Two more units are scheduled to open there in 2026, and Rosso said they are preparing to franchise the brand here, after the third location is launched.
Rosso admits they are in a bit of a hurry—though, she joked, “The words ‘hurry’ and ‘opening’ don’t seem to go together well in the U.S., when it comes to restaurants.”
The clock is ticking because the FIFA World Cup is coming to America in 2026.
And El Club is owned in part by Lionel Messi, a global soccer superstar originally from Argentina, who is now captain of the Major League Soccer team Inter Miami.
Messi speaks often about his love for a good milanesa. His favorite is the Napolitana, which is a veal cutlet topped with tomato sauce and melted mozzarella (sometimes also ham, but Rosso said Messi doesn’t like it with ham).
And because Messi is arguably the most famous soccer player on the planet (and probably several other planets) Rosso would really like to get the brand established here as the World Cup fever pitch continues to rise across the U.S.
Her goal—and that of Messi, who took a 25% stake in the brand in July—is to spread the joy of milanesas, which at El Club are vehicles for other flavors.
A milanesa, for example, might be topped with fried eggs, or perhaps with prosciutto, mozzarella, arugula and olives with honey vinaigrette. There’s a pizza-style version, in which cutlets might be topped with pepperoni, cheese and hot honey; or stracciatella and mortadella with chopped pistachios.
“That’s not what is done in Argentina, traditionally,” Rosso said. “But we did it first 19 years ago, and now everyone does it there.”
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Miami has a large Argentinian (and Latin) population, so veal is popular there.
But some Americans might balk at veal. Rosso said the chain also offers chicken cutlets, as well as eggplant.
“People do ask for chicken because it’s what they know most,” said Rosso. “But when they try veal milanesa, it blows your mind.”
Typically, milanesas are served with fries (Messi prefers mashed potatoes) and beer, Rosso said. But there are also milanesa sandwiches, wraps or even bowls on the menu.
In Miami, a milanesa plate with side and beverage would be about $30 to $35, which, she admits, is about twice what it would be in Argentina. But Miami is an expensive town.
In Argentina, El Club has three formats: casual dining (with about 100 seats), takeout only and fast-casual (counter service).
In the U.S., Rosso said the first and second El Club locations will be casual dining, but the third will be a fast-casual unit and the latter is what they hope to grow with franchising. The goal is to find master franchise partners who will help grow the brand in the U.S.
One key feature: El Club uses Black Angus beef from Argentina.
“There’s a big difference,” said Rosso. “The U.S. has great veal, but it’s not the same.”
The cost of importing the meat is less an obstacle, given the rising cost of U.S. beef, she said. The only problem is that the meat cannot be cut in Argentina, it has to be processed in the U.S., which increases the complexity of the operation—at least temporarily.
With scale, El Club will be able to establish central processing facilities, where the cutlets could be cut, flattened, breaded and even perhaps pre-cooked and frozen, she said.
In Argentina, for example, the company is building a larger production center that taps equipment that will allow the company to prep 10-times more cutlets.
That facility will help support a planned move into Spain as the next big market, Rosso said.
The first El Club location in Miami is full service. | Photos courtesy of El Club de la Milanesa.
The connection to Messi will no doubt raise brand awareness among soccer fans.
But Rosso makes it clear that this is not a sponsorship deal or just about marketing. He is an owner.
“Our dream is to take milanesa to the rest of the world as an ambassador of our Argentine culture,” said Rosso. “That’s exactly why Lionel Messi is our partner right now, because he believes in that vision.”